The present invention concerns a double function bending blade for sheet metal bending machine.
For the bending of the edges of panels of sheet metal, bending machines are commonly used in which the edge of the sheet metal to be submitted to bending is pressed between a fixed bending counter blade and a mobile blank holder above it.
The bending operation of the edge of the sheet metal is carried out by a bending device that has one or more mobile bending blades according to whether the machine is destined to the bending in one or two opposite senses, that is upward and/or downward.
Object of the present invention is to realize a bending blade that is made up in such a way as to be able to carry out bendings of the edge of the sheet metal in opposite senses and therefore to allow the provision of a single blade bidirectional bending machine.
According to the invention such object is attained with a bending blade characterized in that it comprises two bending teeth extending from a single blade body in directions substantially orthogonal to each other.
One of the two teeth is destined to the bending of the sheet metal in one sense, for example upward, while the other tooth allows the bending in the other sense, for example downward. A double function bending blade is thus obtained, that is capable to carry out bendings both upward and downward.
If, as preferable, one of the teeth extends in a direction substantially parallel to the sheet metal resting plane, the same tooth can also be used to cause the squeezing of the sheet metal edge previously folded upward over a further back portion of the same sheet metal, resting on the counter blade.